COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

AVERY  FINE  ARTS  RESTRICTED 


REPORT 


DELEGATES  OF  THE 


BANKS  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK, 


BANK  CONVENTION, 


HELD  AT  NEW- YORK, 


ON  27th  NOVEMBER  TO  lsv  DECEMBER,  183" 


PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  GENERAL   COMMITTEE  OF 
THE  CITY  BANKS. 


NEW-YORK  : 
A.  DE  CAMP  &  CO.,  34  WALL-STREET. 

1837 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


REPORT 

OF  THE 

DELEGATES  OF  THE 

BANKS  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW-YORK, 

TO  THE 

BANK  CONVENTION, 

HELD  AT  NEW- YORK, 

ON  27th  NOVEMBER  TO  1st  DECEMBER,  1837, 


PUBLISHED   BY  ORDER  OF   THE   GENERAL   COMMITTEE  OF 
THE   CITY  BANKS. 


NEW-YORK  : 
A.  DE  CAMP  &  CO.,  34  WALL-STREET, 

1837. 


8UPI3 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Officers  of  the  Banks  of  the  City  of  New-York,  held  on 
the  15th  December,  1837— 

The  delegates  appointed  to  represent  the  said  Banks  in  the  Convention  of 
the  Banks  of  the  several  States,  which  met  at  New- York,  on  the  27th  of  No- 
vember last,  and  on  the  following  days,  to  the  1st  of  this  month,  made  the 
following  report.    Whereupon  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  said  report  be  accepted  and  published. 

PETER  STAGG,  Chairman. 

W.  M.  Vermilye,  Secretary. 


REPORT. 


The  delegates  appointed  to  represent  the  Banks  of  the 
city  of  New- York,  in  the  general  Bank  Convention,  held  in 
the  said  city,  on  the  27th  of  November,  1837,  respectfully 
submit,  together  with  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Con- 
vention, the  following  report,  explanatory  of  their  votes  in 
that  body  : 

The  banks  of  the  several  states  have  been  vested  with 
the  power,  and,  in  most  of  the  states,  especially  in  that  of 
New- York,  with  the  exclusive  privilege  of  issuing  a  paper 
currency,  on  the  express  condition,  that  they  should  at  all 
times,  and  whenever  the  demand  was  made,  redeem  it  in 
gold  or  silver,  the  only  constitutional  legal  tender  or  cur- 
rency, with  which  debts  may  be  discharged.  Nothing, 
therefore,  but  the  inability  to  perform  the  condition,  can  jus- 
tify a  suspension  of  specie  payments  on  the  part  of  the 
banks. 

The  immediate  causes  which  thus  compelled  the  banks 
of  the  city  of  New- York  to  suspend  specie  payments,  on 
the  10th  of  May  last,  are  well  known.  The  simultaneous 
withdrawing  of  the  large  public  deposits,  and  of  excessive 
foreign  credits,  combined  with  the  great  and  unexpected 
fall  in  the  price  of  the  principal  article  of  our  exports,  with 
an  import  of  corn  and  bread  stuffs,  such  as  had  never  before 
occurred,  and  with  the  consequent  inability  of  the  country, 
particularly  of  the  south-western  states,  to  make  the  usual 


4 


and  expected  remittances,  did,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  fall 
principally  and  necessarily,  on  the  greatest  commercial  em- 
porium of  the  Union.  After  a  long  and  most  arduous 
struggle,  during  which  the  banks,  though  not  altogether  un- 
successfully, resisting  the  imperative  foreign  demand  for 
the  precious  metals,  were  gradually  deprived  of  a  great 
portion  of  their  specie  ;  some  unfortunate  incidents  of  a  local 
nature,  operating  in  concert  with  other  previous  exciting 
causes,  produced  distrust  and  panic,  and  finally  one  of  those 
general  runs,  which,  if  continued,  no  banks  that  issue  paper 
money  payable  on  demand,  can  ever  resist ;  and  which  soon 
put  it  out  of  the  power  of  those  of  this  city  to  sustain  specie 
payments.  The  example  was  followed  by  the  banks 
throughout  the  whole  country,  with  as  much  rapidity  as  the 
news  of  the  suspension  in  New-York  reached  them,  without 
waiting  for  an  actual  run,  and  principally,  if  not  exclusively, 
on  the  alleged  grounds  of  the  effects  to  be  apprehended  from 
that  suspension.  Thus,  whilst  the  New-York  city  banks 
were  almost  drained  of  their  specie,  those  in  other  places 
preserved  the  amount  which  they  held  before  the  final 
catastrophe. 

If  the  share  of  blame,  which  may  justly  be  imputed  to 
the  banks,  be  analyzed,  it  will  be  found  to  consist  in  their  not 
having,  at  an  early  period,  duly  appreciated  the  magnitude 
of  the  impending  danger,  and  taken,  in  time,  the  measures 
necessary  to  guard  against  it ;  in  their  want  of  firmness 
when  the  danger  was  more  apparent  and  alarming  ;  in 
yielding  to  the  demands  for  increased,  or  continued  bank 
facilities,  instead  of  resolutely  curtailing  their  loans,  and  les- 
sening their  liabilities.  Whether  the  most  acute  foresight, 
and  the  most  powerful  exertions,  could  have  enabled  the 
banks  to  have  averted  the  blow,  is  a  question  which  we  are 
not  called  upon  to  discuss. 

Whatever  explanations  may  be  given  concerning  the 
past ;  since  nothing  but  actual  inability  can  be  alleged  as  an 


5 


excuse  for  having  ceased  to  perform  the  express  condition, 
on  which  the  privilege  to  issue  a  paper  currency  had  been 
granted  ;  it  is  equally  obvious,  that  nothing  can  justify  a 
protracted  suspension,  but  the  continued  inability  to  resume 
and  sustain  specie  payments.  This  principle  is  indeed  so 
evident,  that,  as  an  abstract  proposition,  its  correctness  is 
universally  admitted:  and  all  agree  in  expressing  their 
*i  thorough  conviction,  that  nothing  can  excuse  the  continu- 
ance of  suspension,  after  the  necessity  which  demands  it, 
shall  have  ceased."  But,  in  enumerating  the  objections  to 
an  early  resumption,  or  to  fixing  a  day  for  it,  the  discussion 
was  not  confined  to  arguments  derived  from  a  supposed 
continued  inability  on  the  part  of  the  banks  to  resume  ;  but 
an  appeal  was  also  made  to  considerations  of  presumed 
expediency,  connected  with  the  general  situation  of  the  coun- 
try, and  on  which  the  simple  fact  of  the  ability  of  the  banks 
to  resume,  and  sustain  specie  payments,  does  not  depend. 

It  is  but  too  well  known,  that  a  general  suspension  of 
specie  payments  by  the  banks,  is  not  confined  to  them 
alone,  but  extends  instantaneously  to  the  whole  community. 
As  they  had  substituted  their  paper  for  the  metallic  cur- 
rency, and  as  even  the  portion  of  specie  which  still  circula- 
ted, disappears  at  once,  when  the  general  bank  suspension 
takes  place,  the  depreciated  bank  paper  currency  alone  re- 
mains, both  as  the  only  medium  of  payment,  and,  by  a 
necessary  consequence,  as  the  practical  standard  of  value. 
Thus,  by  a  strange  anomaly,  whilst  the  courts  of  law  can 
consider  nothing  but  gold  or  silver  as  the  legal  payment  of 
debts,  every  individual,  without  exception,  w7ho  is  not  com- 
pelled by  process  of  law,  or  who  does  not  resort  to  the 
tribunals  for  redress,  pays  all  his  debts  with,  and  receives 
nothing  in  payment  but,  an  irredeemable,  depreciated 
currency.  A  general  usage,  openly  at  war  with  law,  usurps 
its  place;  and  the  few  cases  where  the  laws  are  enforced, 
are  only  exceptions  to  the  universal  practice.    Instead  of 


6 


the  permanent  and  uniform  standard  of  value  provided  by 
the  constitution,  and  by  which  all  contracts  were  intended 
to  be  regulated,  we  have  at  once  fifty  different,  and  fluctu- 
ating standards,  agreeing  only  in  one  respect,  that  of  impair- 
ing the  sanctity  of  contracts.  Even  restrictive  and  penal 
laws,  are  openly  and  daily  violated  with  impunity,  by  every 
body,  in  circulating  notes  forbidden  by  law.  It  is  impossi- 
ble that  such  a  state  of  things  should  not  gradually  demo- 
ralize the  whole  community  ;  that  a  general  relaxation  in  the 
punctual  and  honourable  fulfilment  of  obligations  and  con- 
tracts, should  not  take  place  ;  that  that  which  operates  as  a 
general  relief  law,  should  not  be  attended  with  the  same 
baneful  effects,  which  have  always  attended  positive  laws  of 
the  same  character ;  and  that,  if  the  present  illegal  system 
be  much  longer  continued,  the  commercial  credit  and  pros- 
perity of  the  country,  and  more  particularly  of  this  city, 
should  not  be  deeply  and  permanently  injured. 

When  we  see  such  extensive,  general  and,  we  may  say, 
intolerable  evils  flowing  from  a  general  suspension  of  specie 
payments  by  the  banks,  it  is  monstrous  to  suppose  that,  if 
they  are  able  to  resume,  and  sustain  such  payments,  they 
should  have  any  discretionary  right  to  decide,  or  even  to  dis- 
cuss the  question,  whether  a  more  or  less  protracted  suspen- 
sion is  consistent  with  their  own  views  of  "  the  condition 
and  circumstances  of  the  country."  There  would  be  no 
limit  to  such  supposed  discretion.  Thus,  for  instance,  should 
the  hope  of  a  favourable  action  of  Congress  on  the  currency 
be  still  alleged  as  a  motive  for  delay,  wTould  not  this  be  tan- 
tamount to  a  protracted  suspension  for  an  indefinite  period 
of  time  ? 

The  banks  are  bound  by  the  strongest  legal  and  moral 
obligations  to  resume  specie  payments  whenever  they  are 
able  to  maintain  such  payments.  It  is  the  paramount  duty 
to  which  every  other  consideration  must  yield.  Their  ability 
to  perform  that  duty,  is  the  only  question  which  they  have  a 


7 


right  to  discuss,  and  which  they  are  bound  to  examine  with 
the  utmost  care  and  candour. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  power  to  issue  paper  money  should 
cease  whenever  the  express  condition,  on  which  the  privi- 
lege was  granted,  cannot  be  performed.  It  is  only  through 
the  indulgence  of  the  legislature,  and  of  the  community,  that 
the  banks  are  still  permitted,  for  awhile,  to  continue  their 
issues.  If  there  be,  indeed,  any  considerations  affecting  the 
general  welfare,  which  can  render  the  continuance  of  an 
irredeemable  currency  desirable,  after  the  time  when  the 
banks  are  or  shall  think  themselves  able  to  resume  specie 
payments,  the  application  for  a  further  protraction  must 
come  from  the  parties  interested,  and  not  from  the  banks  ; 
and  it  must  be  made,  not  to  the  banks,  but  to  the  legislature'. 

It  was  urged,  that  some  respectable  merchants,  here  and 
in  other  places,  were  opposed  to  an  early  resumption. 
During  the  late  trying  crisis,  some  of  the  most  respectable 
and  solvent  members  of  the  commercial  community  might 
have  been  under  the  necessity  of  requiring  some  indulgence, 
at  least  in  point  of  time.  But  there  is  not  one  of  those  honour- 
able men,  who  would  not  think  himself  disgraced  and  de- 
graded, if,  after  having  obtained  the  requisite  time,  he  de- 
layed the  fulfilment  of  his  engagements  a  single  day  after  he 
had  become  able  to  do  so.  That  which  they  require  from 
the  banks  is,  therefore,  unjust  and  unreasonable :  for  they 
ask  them  to  do  that,  from  which,  in  their  own  case,  they 
would  shrink ;  and  whieh,  if  done  by  any  one  in  his  indi- 
vidual capacity,  they  would  consider  as  disgraceful  and 
dishonourable. 

It  was  indeed  insisted,  that  some  of  the  general  considera- 
tions to  which  we  have  alluded,  made  it  dangerous  for  the 
banks  to  attempt  to  resume  specie  payments.  We  will 
advert  to  all  the  objections  truly  of  that  character  ;  but  deem 
it  unnecessary  to  take  further  notice  of  that  founded  on  an 
expected  action  of  congress,  or  to  dwell  on  those  clearly 


s 


arising  from  local  or  particular  interests,  such  as  the  want 
of  extended  bank  accommodations,  and  the  supposed  facili- 
ties afforded  by  a  protracted  suspension  for  the  collection  of 
debts.  Yet,  we  must  not  be  understood  as  admitting  that 
such  protraction  would,  in  any  respect,  be  advantageous  to 
the  community  at  large ;  believing,  on  the  contrary,  as  we 
do,  that  its  general  and  permanent  interests  would  be  sacri- 
ficed to  temporary  ease  and  particular  classes,  should  the 
suspension  be  continued  any  longer  than  absolute  necessity 
requires. 

Amongst  the  considerations  deemed  by  us  to  be  irrelevant 
to  the  true  and  only  question  before  the  banks,  that  most 
strongly  urged,  was  the  alleged  necessity  of  a  previous 
"  restoration  of  domestic  exchanges  to  their  natural  and 
regular  condition  and  order."  This  is  confounding  cause 
and  effect.  The  obligation  to  pay  specie,  is  the  check  which 
regulates  the  exchanges  and  prevents  them  from  rising  much 
above  the  specie  par.  The  suspension  of  specie  payments, 
and  the  consequent  great  difference  in  value,  as  compared 
with  specie,  of  the  several  local  bank  currencies,  are  the 
cause  of  the  great  corresponding  inequalities  of  the  domes- 
tic exchanges,  so  justly  complained  of ;  and  the  evil  cannot 
otherwise  be  overcome,  than  by  a  general  resumption  of 
specie  payments.  If  A,  in  Philadelphia,  is  obliged  to  lose  ten 
per  cent.,  in  order  to  draw  his  funds  from  Nashville,  it  is 
because  (whether  owing  to  excess  in  circulation,  or  to  great 
indebtedness,  is  immaterial)  the  Tennessee  bank  currency  is 
worth  ten  per  cent,  less  than  that  of  Philadelphia.  If  specie 
payments  were  resumed  in  both  places,  he  would  lose,  at 
most,  two  or  three  per  cent,  on  the  exchange.  But  A  is 
now  permitted,  by  general  usage,  to  pay  his  debts  at  home 
in  Philadelphia  bank  paper,  worth  six  per  cent,  less  than 
specie.  He  apprehends  that,  if  the  Philadelphia  banks  should 
resume  specie  payments  before  those  of  Tennessee,  being 
obliged  to  pay  his  own  debts  in  paper  equal  to  specie,  he 


9 


would  lose  16,  instead  of  10  per  cent.,  on  the  Tennessee 
exchange.  The  argument,  derived  from  the  present  con- 
dition of  domestic  exchanges,  resolves  itself,  therefore,  into 
one  of  expediency.  It  is  founded  on  the  inadmissible  sup- 
position, that  in  order  to  accommodate  special  interests,  and 
to  benefit  certain  classes,  the  banks,  though,  from  their  situa- 
tion and  resources,  able  to  resume  specie  payments,  have  a 
right  to  protract  the  suspension,  to  postpone  the  payment  of 
their  own  debts,  and  to  delay  the  performance  of  the  para- 
mount duty  they  owe  to  the  community  at  large,  of  restoring 
a  currency  equal  to  gold  or  silver. 

The  only  question,  on  which  the  convention  was  called 
upon  to  deliberate,  being  the  ability  of  the  banks  to  resume 
and  sustain  specie  payments,  it  appeared  to  the  delegates  of 
both  the  city  and  country  banks  of  New- York,  that  an  early- 
day  might  at  this  time  be  designated  for  that  purpose. 

In  their  first  circular  of  the  18th  of  August,  the  commit- 
tee of  correspondence  of  the  city  banks,  had  pointed  out 
such  a  favourable  alteration  in  the  rate  of  foreign  ex- 
changes, as  would  remove  the  danger  of  an  immediate 
exportation  of  the  precious  metals,  and  a  concert  on  the  part 
of  the  principal  banks  of  the  country,  as  the  only  requisites- 
for  resuming  with  safety. 

In  reference  to  the  first  point,  several  estimates  of  the 
amount  of  foreign  debt  still  due,  neither  provided  for,  nor 
postponed,  and  which  probably  would  be  demanded,  and 
must  be  paid,  before  the  first  of  July  next,  were  alluded  to, 
in  the  course  of  the  discussion.  Those  estimates  varied 
from  five  to  twenty  millions  of  dollars.  The  lowest  calcu- 
lation appeared  to  rest  on  correct  data :  but  if  somewhat 
too  low,  the  difference  might  be  readily  provided  for,  by  the 
first  proceeds  of  the  cotton  crop,  and  by  the  sale  of  state 
stocks.  But  it  was  not  at  all  necessary  to  resort  to  calcu- 
lations of  the  amount  of  our  foreign  debt.  Its  effect  on  foreign 
exchanges,  and  on  a  consequent  drain  of  specie  for  export- 


10 


ation,  is  the  only  point  in  which  the  banks  are  concerned, 
and  which  could  affect  the  question  under  consideration. 

At  the  very  time  when  the  convention  was  deliberating, 
the  exchange  on  London,  which  had  been  as  high  as  121,  had 
fallen  to  114,  nominal:  and  the  true  par  being  a  fraction 
above  109 J  nominal,  the  exchange  was  in  fact  but  four  per 
cent,  above  par  in  city  bank  paper.  But  that  paper  was  itself 
at  five  per  cent,  below  specie  ;  and  the  rate  of  exchange 
was,  therefore,  one  per  cent,  below  specie  par.  In  other  words, 
any  given  quantity  of  New- York  bank  notes  could  pur- 
chase bills  on  London,  exceeding  by  one  per  cent,  the  cor- 
responding amount  in  specie,  which  the  same  quantity  of 
bank  notes  could  purchase.  Ninety-nine  gold  sovereigns 
cost  as  much  as  a  bill  on  London  of  one  hundred  pounds 
sterling.  Under  such  circumstances,  specie  could  not  be 
exported  without  a  loss,  and  accordingly  the  exportation  had 
altogether  ceased.  It  is  well  known  that,  within  a  week  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  convention,  a  further  fall  had  reduced 
the  rate  of  exchange  to  111^  nominal  ;  that  is  to  say,  to 
per  cent,  below  the  true  specie  par,  and  within  less  than 
2  per  cent,  of  being  at  par  with  New- York  bank  notes. 
But,  reverting  to  the  time  when  the  convention  was  sitting, 
the  requisite  alteration  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  conjec- 
ture ;  and  the  fact,  that  the  exchange  had  fallen  below  the 
true  specie  par,  and  that  the  exportation  of  specie  had 
ceased,  had  actually  taken  place. 

Apprehensions  were  nevertheless  expressed,  of  the  effect 
which  large  importations  of  grain  and  merchandise  might 
hereafter  have  on  the  foreign  exchanges,  and  of  an  expected 
drain  of  specie  for  the  China  trade.  It  appeared  to  us  that 
if,  after  the  principal  acknowledged  cause  of  the  suspension, 
and  which  presented  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  resumption, 
had  actually  ceased  to  operate,  we  were  permitted  to  allege 
conjectures  and  contingencies,  as  a  proper  ground  for  pro- 
tracting the  suspension,  there  was  no  time,  at  which  some 


II 


plausible  reasons  of  a  similar  character  might  not  be  addu- 
ced, and  the  resumption  be  indefinitely  postponed. 

With  respect  to  the  danger  of  excessive  importations,  it 
might  indeed  be  apprehended  that,  whenever  the  pressure 
of  the  foreign  debt  was  removed,  the  commercial  commu- 
nity might,  with  its  characteristic  energetic  spirit  of  enter- 
prise, resume  its  business  too  soon,  and  on  too  large  a  scale. 
And  it  is,  on  that  account,  highly  important,  that  the  banks 
should  seize  eagerly  that  eventful  moment,  and,  as  it  may 
be  called,  the  turn  of  the  tide,  for  an  immediate  resumption, 
before  new  undertakings  may  raise  new  obstacles  to  the 
accomplishment  of  that  object. 

The  danger  of  unfavourable  exchanges,  and  of  an  extra- 
ordinary exportation  of  specie,  being  now  out  of  question, 
what  other  causes  could  impair  the  ability  of  the  banks, 
generally,  or  in  some  sections  of  the  country,  to  resume 
specie  payments  within  a  very  short  period  ? 

The  four  great  south-western  states  were  not  represented 
in  the  convention  :  and  it  will  be  admitted  that  some  of  them 
may  not  be  ready  as  early  as  the  other  parts  of  the  Union. 
It  is,  on  that  point,  sufficient  to  observe,  1st.  That,  being 
largely  debtors,  their  not  resuming  immediately  cannot  in 
any  way  affect  the  stability  of  specie  payments  by  the  other 
states.  2d.  That  the  resumption  by  other  states  will  not, 
in  the  slightest  degree,  impair  the  productive  industry  of 
those  districts,  whose  great  natural  resources  will,  notwith- 
standing the  peculiar  situation  of  their  banks,  early  and  pow- 
erfully promote  the  payment  of  debts  and  the  renewal  of 
sound  business. 

By  no  other  portion  of  the  country  was  it  intimated,  that 
there  were  any  banks,  whose  particular  situation  required  a 
longer  time  than  might  be  wanted  by  those  of  New- York  : 
unless  this  should  have  been  implied  in  some  allusions  to  the 
respective  indebtedness  to  each  other,  of  the  several  cities 
or  districts.    In  such  cases,  justice  requires,  and  it  may  be 


12 


done  in  a  very  short  time,  that  the  necessary  curtailments 
should  be  made  in  the  debtor  places,  and  the  resources  thus 
obtained  should  be  applied  to  the  discharge  of  such  debts, 
and,  when  necessary,  to  the  purchase  of  specie.  This  is, 
in  fact,  the  course  pointed  out  by  the  resolution,  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  convention  :  "  That  this  convention  strongly 
recommends  to  all  the  banks  of  the  United  States,  to  continue 
by  proper  measures,  to  prepare  themselves  to  return  to 
specie  payments,  within  the  shortest  practicable  period  after 
the  next  meeting  of  the  convention." 

We  have  every  reason  to  believe,  that  the  banks  repre- 
sented in  the  convention,  were  in  a  sound  state  ;  and,  in 
every  respect,  as  well  prepared  and  able  to  resume  specie 
payments,  as  those  of  the  city  of  New-York.  It  would  in- 
deed be  strange  that  it  should  be  otherwise.  New-York 
suffered  incomparably  more  than  any  other  city  ;  the  fail- 
ures were  far  more  numerous  ;  its  banks  were  subject  more 
than  any  others  to  the  causes  which  produced  the  suspen- 
sion, and  alone  to  a  run  of  domestic  origin,  alone  drained  of 
the  greater  part  of  their  specie,  whilst  banks  in  other  places 
preserved  the  greater  part  of  theirs. 

The  only  reason  which  remains  to  be  examined,  is  the 
apprehension  that  confidence  may  not  have  been  suffi- 
ciently restored  to  ensure  a  permanent  resumption.  The 
causes  which  occasioned  the  distrust,  the  panic,  and  the  run 
on  some  of  the  banks,  have  ceased  to  operate.  Such  coin- 
cidence of  extraordinary  events  and  unfortunate  incidents, 
as  produced  the  catastrophe,  must  be  rare,  and  may  never 
again  occur.  It  must  be  conceded,  that  it  is  impossible  that 
confidence  should  be  restored,  until  the  banks  shall  have  re- 
sumed specie  payments,  or  designated  an  early  day  for  that 
purpose.  Combined  with  the  conviction  of  ihe  ability  of  the 
banks  to  resume,  and  with  the  fact  that  their  paper  shall 
have  become  equal,  or  nearly  equal  in  value  to  specie,  no- 
thing is  wanted  for  restoring  entire  confidence,  but  the 


18 


simultaneous  resumption  by  the  principal  banks,  acting  in 
concert. 

Although  the  convention  could  not  be  prevailed  upon, 
either  to  fix  at  this  time  a  day  on  which  to  resume,  or  to 
meet  again  on  an  earlier  day  than  the  1 1th  of  April ;  although 
it  is  peculiarly  to  be  regretted  that,  from  incidental  conside- 
rations, it  should  not  have  yielded  to  our  request  to  meet  in 
the  first  days  of  March,  yet  the  conference  has  been  attend- 
ed with  considerable  advantages.  There  has  been  a  free 
and  mutual  interchange  of  opinions.  The  serious  attention 
of  all  the  banks  has  been  drawn  to  the  absolute  necessity  of 
an  early  resumption:  and  the  suggestion  of  a  postponement 
for  an  indefinite  time,  if  ever  seriously  entertained,  has  been 
abandoned.  We  may  now  rely  with  confidence,  on  a  great 
unanimity  from  the  eastern,  southern,  and  north-western 
sections  of  the  Union,  in  fixing,  at  our  next  meeting,  the  ear- 
liest practicable  day  for  the  resumption  of  specie  payments. 
It  is  true  that  the  banks  of  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  ap- 
peared to  contemplate  a  more  remote  time  than  we  did,  not 
certainly  because  of  being  less  able  or  prepared  than  our- 
selves, or  others,  but  on  general  grounds.  It  now  appears, 
from  official  returns,  that  the  banks  of  Pennsylvania  are,  in 
every  respect,  better  prepared  than  those  of  the  city  of 
New- York.  And  it  has  been  announced  by  the  highest  au- 
thority in  that  state,  that  "  the  banks  of  Pennsylvania  are 
in  a  much  sounder  state  than  before  the  suspension ; 
and  that  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  so  far  as  it  de- 
pends on  their  situation  and  resources,  may  take  place  at 
any  time."  The  great  fall  at  this  early  day  in  the  rate  of 
foreign  exchanges,  which  has  exceeded  our  most  sanguine 
expectations,  had  not  been  anticipated  by  them.  A  fact  so 
important,  and  which  gives  a  new  aspect  to  the  whole  sub- 
ject, cannot  fail  to  have  a  powerful  influence  on  their  deci- 
sion. We  entertain  sanguine  hopes,  that  this  and  the  course 
of  events  will  remove  their  objections,  and  induce  them  to 


14 


unite  and  act  in  concert  with  us.  We  are  under  the  firm 
conviction,  that  the  result  depends  on  their  determination, 
and  that,  if  they  agree  to  it,  the  resumption  may  with  facility 
be  effected  at  an  early  day.  Should  they  persevere  in  the 
opinion,  that  an  early  resumption  is  inexpedient  and  dange- 
rous, it  may,  considering  the  magnitude  of  their  capital, 
prove  difficult  for  the  other  banks,  and  particularly  for  those 
of  this  city,  with  their  resources  alone,  to  maintain  perma- 
nently specie  payments. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  line  of  our  duty  is  obvious  :  and  we 
have  only  to  continue,  by  every  measure  in  our  power,  to 
strengthen  ourselves,  and  to  be  prepared,  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible day,  to  fulfil  our  engagements,  and  to  resume  and 
maintain  specie  payments.  To  the  early  completion  of  the 
measures  now  in  train  for  that  purpose,  we  respectfully,  but 
most  earnestly  call  the  immediate  attention  of  the  city 
banks,  as  an  indispensable  requisite  before  a  day  can  be  fixed 
for  resumption.  The  country  banks,  with  most  laudable 
exertions,  have  taken  all  the  necessary  steps,  and  are  pre- 
pared to  resume  at  any  time. 

Albert  Gallatin, 
Gbj.  Newbold, 
C.  W.  Lawrence, 
Cons.  Heyer, 
John  J.  Palmer, 
Preserved  Fish, 
G.  A.  Worth. 

December  15,  1837. 


